Week of canning

What a long week of canning it was last week! I started off by canning lard and brisket and then Michael and I found a great deal on some fresh tomatoes. The first 75lbs. we bought were $17 per 25lbs. When I went back to buy 100lbs., they sold them to me for $15 per 25 lbs. We canned tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, salsa, and tomato sauce(check out the process). Then, during that process, we got 4 gallons of fresh milk and canned milk(2&1/2 gallons) and the butter we made from the cream. I also ground up our basil harvest and it takes a lot of fresh basil to make 1 quart of dried ground basil. This week I will be canning more butter and some hamburger. Not to mention the preparations going on for Ranchfest.

Jennifer(turned 11 on Monday!) got a new goat this week. Her name is Heather and she is so cute. The ladies we get the milk from gave her to us. They raise Boars and this one was a bottle fed kid. When she was old enough to go back to the herd she did not do well. She has a very laid back personality and likes to be around people. Tracy also got a new kitten from the Sustaires. I am sure pictures will be posted on their blog soon.

I recently tried cleaning up an old quilt. It went pretty well. I soaked it overnight and had Jennifer help me work on some of the spots and then she got up on a ladder and held the quilt as I gently wrung out the water. The water it was soaking in looked like pond water! I was so amazed. I did not realize the quilt was that dirty. I took it to the laundry that week and washed it on gentle. I was a little nervous doing it but I hoped it would take a machine wash. I did secure some weak spots with safety pins. I did take some before and after pictures but they are kind of misleading since there was more light the second time it looks even cleaner.
Before:

After(the dark stripe is a shadow):

Tomorrow is community work day and we will be working on getting everything ready for Ranchfest. It is always a fun time to get to meet more like minded brethren. The work, food and fellowship are always great. It is a blessing to be able to come together with these people from around the country and around Canada.

I will close with my favorite pictures. Flowers! Here is my echinacea plant that I thought had died but after the rains we had it came back strong and put off some pretty blooms.


Here are my marigolds.


And here are some blooms from our sweet potatoes.


Reforming Daily,
Danielle